ROBERTO DI MATTEO knows failure against Benfica tonight will see Chelsea make the wrong kind of Champions League history.

The Blues became only the fourth club to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit when they beat Napoli to reach the quarter-finals.

Now they need only draw tonight’s second leg to avoid becomingthe third side to crash out after a first-leg away win.

Chelsea are odds-on favourites to reach their sixth semi-final in nine years, having sealed a surprisingly straightforward 1-0 victory in last Tuesday’s game in Lisbon.

Complacency would therefore appear to be the biggest threat to Di Matteo’s men.

The Italian said: “It is a danger. This is half-time and we’re leading 1-0. But a 1-0 lead is basically nothing.

“Our players are aware of this and we’ll have to go into this game with the right attitude, the same attitude as against Napoli.

“Nothing has been done yet – we need to go and qualify.”

Benfica’s limp performance atthe Estadio da Luz contrasted sharply with with the rest of their Champions League campaign, with Jorge Jesus’ men having KO’d Man United in the group stage.

Di Matteo added: “This tie is far from over. They have scored in every away game of the Champions League this season so it’s difficult.”

The Blues coach certainly led by example yesterday, refusing to discuss almost anything other than tonight’s game.

The match will mark a month since the Italian succeeded the sacked Andre Villas-Boas, four and a half weeks that have witnessed an incredible turnaround inChelsea’s fortunes.

Six wins and a draw from eight games have sparked something of a clamour for the former Blues midfielder to be given the jobfull-time, something that will grow tonight unless disaster strikes. DiMatteo snubbed questions about his own future and asked why he was so reluctant to declare he wanted to manage such a fantastic club full-time, he said: “It’s a fantastic club, I’ll agree with you on that.

“I need to win games, it’s as simple as that. It’s a results business and that’s all that matters.”

Ending Chelsea’s agonising wait for Champions League glory – something that appeared impossibile a month ago– would make Di Matteo’s claim to the job impossible to ignore. But he would not go into whether the Blues were capable of lifting the European Cup and his own dreams of doing so.

He said: “I have no time to think about that.

“I’m full on in my work all day to prepare the team tactically and physically for the next game.”

Chelsea are in the midst of a nightmare schedule of matches and, should they reach the Champions League semi-finals, they will end up playing 11 times in just 40 days.

The Blues had been hoping to convince FA chiefs to bring forward the FA Cup semi-final kick-off against Spurs on April 15 from 6pm to give them more time to prepare for a potential last-four shoot-out.

But their plea is likely to fail and Di Matteo refuses to discuss the matter. Commenting on their fixture congestion, he said: “A lot of clubs would like to have so many games to play, to be involved in all these competitions.

“It’s very demanding for the players but we’re in a good place. All the players are available so that will help us.

“It might become an issue at some point. I don’t know.

“Fortunately, we have a fully fit squad, which will help us in the run-in, to be able to play every player we have and give everybody a chance.”

Didier Drogba (foot), David Luiz (ankle) and Raul Meireles (knee) all trained last night, with Di Matteo optimistic about their fitness.

The Italian was praised for his bold team selection in Lisbon, while his players have been queueing up to hail his man-management, the kind of backing Villas-Boas didnot enjoy.

Di Matteo said: “There are a number of players who maybe haven’t had much chance or didn’t play as much and are now getting more game time and expressing themselves at a very good level.